


A Splat in Time: Inky Escapade

by Flootinus (Flootin)



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game), Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe, Future chapters come with tags, Hat Kid is on the sidelines, I tried to be faithful, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flootin/pseuds/Flootinus
Summary: When Ink Kid gets visited by a member of the Mafia, all the Time Pieces wind up scattered, and all peck breaks loose. Now Ink Kid has to meet new friends and foes in order to get their fuel source back, all so they can go back home.(Basically, this is AHiT, but Hat Kid's now a young Inkling. This is a weird idea, but think of it as a funky alternate take on this beloved adventure.)





	1. Act 1 - A Mafia-Style Welcome

     In the middle of space, a flying mass passes by a lone planet mostly consisting of water. The mass seems to be shaped like a giant, wooden wall with windows and a set of 4 boosters attached. Inside the massive fort, however, is a colorful and practical abode, starting with the main room. It’s filled with all sorts of purples, golds, and reds, ranging from a modestly-sized TV to a yellow slide that led to the Mail Room. Of course, the major thing in the room would be the giant safe, accommodated by a giant, grey wheel.  
  
     However, this story doesn’t start here, but rather in a little room off to the side. This is the bedroom, consisting of a large, colorful assortment of pillows, a modest desk and bureau, and a dark purple bed with similarly-colored curtains draping down from the ceiling. On this bed lays a young, sleeping child. The child looks to be about 13 years of age, and they seem to be dressed quite similarly to the ship’s interior, having a robe of gold and purple. Something truly odd about them, however, is that their bright purple hair… wasn’t hair. Rather, they seem to be tentacles, judging by the suction cups underneath. We’ll just call them… Tenta-Kid? No, no… How about Ink Kid? That sounds good.  
  
     A spacey, yet peppy tune starts blasting over the intercom, prompting Ink Kid to slowly roll off the bed and onto the floor. They then quickly pull themselves up, stretching as they do so.  
  
     “Ahh, good morning, glorious ship!” Ink Kid exclaims before practically skipping out of the bedroom and to the main room. They climb to the upper level, walking to the giant screen next to the safe. They stop right in front of said screen as they tap it, accompanied by a “Boop!” from their end. As a result, the screen starts showing a dotted line with a planet on the end of it, alongside the spacecraft right at the middle.  
  
     “Halfway to home! At this rate, I should be there in about a couple days or so!” Ink Kid deduces, tapping the screen again. This time, the screen shows a counter of what seems to be hourglasses. The counter is only at 46 for a second before dropping down to 45.  
  
     “45 should be more than enough to get back home, as long as nothing ha-” Ink Kid starts before getting interrupted by a knocking sound. “Hm? Who could that be at this hour?” they ponder as they hop down, approaching the glass door. Behind the glass seems to be a floating human with a blue shirt, an apron, and a weird mustache, alongside huge shoulders and a weirdly blocky head.  
  
     “And what might your business be, good sir?” Ink Kid innocently asks.  
  
     “Mafia come on behalf of Mafia Town. You need to pay shipping fee for big, flying boat! Mafia here to collect.” the man explains, before pulling on the door.  
  
     “Sorry sir, but I don’t have anything. Goodbye!” Ink Kid replies as he pulls the door shut once again. However, the Mafia man wouldn’t give up. Just as Ink Kid turns their back, the man braces himself and punches straight through the glass. This cause himself and Ink Kid to get sucked through the resulting hole, both falling toward the planet below. As Ink Kid soon finds out, however, the vault gate swings open, releasing 45 hourglasses that soon fall towards the planet as well.  
  
     “Well, carp… This is going to be one of  _ those  _ days, isn’t it?” Ink Kid thinks to themselves as they plummet to the planet below.

* * *

     Eventually, Ink Kid would land on the ground, in the middle of a dark, garbage-filled alley. They decide to take out a top hat from the interior of their robe, putting it on their head.  
  
     “Mother told me that if any of those Time Pieces were scattered, then this hat would help me find them. Now’s a better time than any for this!” Ink Kid says to themselves as they exit the alley. They immediately see two Mafia men fall to the ground, with a triumphant, young girl nearby. The girl seemed to be dressed in a red, hooded cape and a light-rose dress. There was a giant medallion around her neck area. But he strangest thing about her was the bright blond mustache on her face.   
  
     Upon closer inspection, the medallion seems to read, “Mustache Girl - Taking down the Mafia since last year.” Mustache Girl eventually notices Ink Kid, running off towards the Main Plaza.  
  
     “Hey, come back here!” Ink Kid exclaims as they run after the mustached rebel. Eventually, Ink Kid would reach a bell tower, where Mustache Girl is at the top.  
  
     “Hey, you! Don’t think I didn’t notice you stalking me!” the girl barked at Ink Kid.  
  
     “What do you mean? I was just wondering who you are!” Ink Kid replies.  
  
     “Listen, kids like us have to stick together, sure, but stalking is an entirely different beast,” Mustache Girl states, clearly ignoring Ink Kid’s reply. “Why don’t we join up for a little… rebellion? After all, two’s better than one, especially with these mooks!”  
  
     “I mean, they really do seem to be a bunch if jerks… Alright, I’ll join you!” Ink Kid responds as he climbs up to Mustache Girl’s level.  
  
     “Alright, first off, the name’s Mustache Girl, but you can just call me… Mu!”  
  
     “Mu? Alright, that seems simple enough,” Ink Kid thinks to himself.  
  
     “Second off, does that hourglass thing over there belong to you? Because those things just started falling out of the sky, and then you oddly showed up! Kinda screwy if you ask me,” Mu explains as she points towards the plaza, where a Mafia man picks up what seems to be a Time Piece.  
  
     “That does belong to me! Stay back, I’m going to take back what’s mine,” Ink Kid states before jumping off of the bell tower, approaching the Mafia man.  
  
     “Excuse me, sir, but could you please hand me that hourglass you have there? You see, it’s actually mine, and-” Ink Kid starts.  
  
     “Sorry, kid, but Mafia keeps what Mafia finds. Now run along.” the big-shouldered man replies, pushing Ink Kid away with a bright blue umbrella. The grip doesn’t seem to be too tight, however, as Ink Kid easily pulls it away from the man, holding it like a sword. The block-headed brute tries to jump and pounce on Ink Kid, but they manage to slide under him. Oddly, when they finish the motion, they seem to have transformed into… a cute squid?! Of course, this wouldn’t stay for long, as Ink Kid springs back into a more human form, whacking the opposing Mafia member straight into the wall with their newly acquired weapon. Thus results in the brute releasing his grasp the Time Piece, which starts floating right near the fountain. However, before Ink Kid can grab it, Mu runs over to them.  
  
     “That was  _ awesome! _ Oh, you should’ve seen the look on the face of that Mafia guy! It was absolutely priceless!” the mustached rebel gushes. “I’ll be off to conjure a plan. You just… uh, do whatever, I guess.”  
  
     “I’ll be off too. I gotta put this thing back where it belongs,” Ink Kid explains, referring to the Time Piece.  
  
     “Alrighty! See ya, fellow rebel!” Mu exclaims as she runs off, waving behind her. It isn’t too long after before Ink Kid grabs the Time Piece, which results in them getting pulled up into space and back into the now boarded up ship.

* * *

_  
__Ink Kid Diary - Entry No. 1_ _  
_ _A Not-so-warm Welcome to Mafia Town_ _  
_ _  
_ _“I woke up, ready to perform my regular routine, when this burly man decided to crash through the glass. Now most of my fuel supply is gone, though I managed to get one Time Piece back. This seems oddly familiar, but I don’t know why.  
_ _  
_ _When I landed, I met a young girl who called herself Mustache Girl. However, I’ll just call her Mu for now. She led me to the nearby fountain, where another one of those men had a Time Piece. I swiftly took care of him and took back what was mine!  
_ _  
_ _Speaking of these men, they seem to call themselves the ‘Mafia of Cooks.’ I don’t know what they cook, but they don’t look like they’d be good at it. They’d probably be better at being big bullies!_ _  
_ _Overall, this is just the beginning of what is probably going to be a long journey. It’ll be fun, I just know it!”_ _  
_ _  
___\- Ink Kid


	2. Act 2 - Mafia Barrel Mayhem

As Ink Kid puts the first Time Piece in the vault, the lights in the living room slowly flicker on, and the door to the kitchen starts flashing. Of course, Ink Kid decides to check out the kitchen. On the way there, however, he finds a mysterious ball of yarn with a large sticky note attached.   
  
The note seems to read, “Heya, fellow rebel! I found this little thing and figured you could find a use for it. I bet you can do something really cool with all the other ones scattered all over the place!”  
  
“Alright, it doesn’t seem all too useful… I’ll trust you for now, Mu,” Ink Kid thinks aloud as they enter the kitchen, where a telescope is set up at the center. Ink Kid cautiously approaches the telescope before throwing caution out the window and looking through the lens. A few seconds pass before Ink Kid’s body seems to mystically disappear with no warning.

* * *

Ink Kid’s body fades in, but this time back in Mafia Town. As soon as they try to question what just happened, a flyer flies right into their face. They grab the flyer and pull it away from their face.  
  
The flyer itself seems to read, “Golden Vault Madness! A golden vault has strangely appeared in Mafia Town! If you collect all the vault codes and manage to open the vault, who knows what it could have in store for you!”  
  
“A golden vault? Something tells me that I should try to open it. I mean, there could be a Time Piece in there for all I know!” Ink Kid thinks to themselves before running off. On the way, however, they manage to find another one of those yarn balls. As soon as Ink Kid collects it, the other one starts flashing in their robe. Ink kid decides to try stitching the yarn, and after a few seconds, a visor is spinning around their umbrella. Ink Kid tries it on and starts to run off, but their speed seems to have increased exponentially.  
  
“Woah, now _this_ is pretty nifty! I gotta thank Mu later, but for now, I gotta get those vault codes!” Ink Kid exclaims as he runs off for the codes.  
  
Eventually, they manage to find all the codes, and they run over to the golden vault, which they open with relative ease. Just like Ink Kid predicted, a Time Piece floats out of the vault until they grab it. However, just a short spell after that, a bright, white light starts to blind Ink Kid as it grows ever vaster…

* * *

Eventually, the light fades away, allowing Ink Kid to open their eyes. What they open their eyes to, however, is a psychedelic, rainbow void. Ink Kid’s about to question where he is, when…  
  
“No one is around to help,” a young, childlike voice states, causing Ink Kid to turn around.   
The voice seems to belong to a little girl with light-brown hair, a smug face, and the exact same robes and top hat as Ink Kid. This similarity in wardrobe severely confuses Ink Kid, almost as much as the weird dance the girl is doing. The “dance,” if you can call it that, just seems to be the girl slowly flailing her arms from side to side.  
  
“Um, excuse me, but who the heck are you?” Ink Kid asks to the new face, who continues her little dance.  
  
“Life is hard, life is stressful. I need peace and tranquility,” the girl chants, clearly ignoring Ink Kid’s questions. “I don’t have to prove myself to anyone.”  
  
“I have no clue about what the heck you’re talking about, or about where I am!” Ink Kid exclaims, getting really confused and angry.  
  
“Relax, traveller. I was in your situation once,” the girl calmly states. “I am known… as Hat Kid.”  
  
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I kinda want to get back to Mafia Town, though,” Ink Kid explains.  
  
“Well, then, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Just... say hello to Mustache Girl for me, okay?” Hat Kid asks, still dancing.  
  
“Don’t worry, I wi-” Ink Kid starts before being blinded by the expansive white light from before.

* * *

When the bright light fades, Ink Kid seems to be standing on a tree near a set of barrels. With the barrels, Ink Kid sees a group of Mafia mooks with Mustache Girl in tow. Ink Kid decides to jump down to the mooks’ level, preparing their umbrella.  
  
“Hey, you! I highly suggest that you let that girl go!” Ink Kid exclaims to the Mafia, who all turn towards them and laugh.  
  
“You think you can take on Mafia? Fat chance!” a Mafia man says before getting jumped on by Ink Kid, who knocks him down with a couple umbrella strikes. A couple more men try to pounce Ink Kid, but they slide under them in squid form, giving them a smack with with their tentacle. All these shenanigans anger the Mafia man on top of the barrels, and it results in various barrels heading towards Ink Kid. Fortunately, they find a safe spot where the big brute can’t seem to hit them.  
  
“Jeez, mister, you throw barrels about as well as an ape on girders!” Ink Kid remarks, resulting in the blocky bully coming down to take them on by himself. Of course, after a few more swift umbrella strikes, the Mafia man is down on the ground, allowing for Mustache Girl to escape captivity and walk over to Ink Kid.  
  
“That was amazing! You really showed those goons who’s boss, huh?” Mustache Girl gushes. “You know, I never got your name when we first met. What is it, anyway?”  
  
“You can just call me Ink Kid,” they explain.

“Well, Ink Kid, I saw that some Mafia jerks were taking some of those hourglass things into Mafia HQ. Perhaps we could team up to get them back!” Mu suggests.  
  
“That… actually sounds like an excellent idea! We should meet at the entrance when we’re both ready,” Ink Kid states.  
  
“Sounds like a plan!” Mu explains as the pair share a high five. “Until then, see ya, Ink Kid!” And then, Mu runs off.  
  
“See you, Mu,” Ink Kid says before grabbing the Time Piece above the fallen mook, teleporting back to their ship.

* * *

When Ink Kid manages to get back to the ship, the doors to the bedroom and the machine room both start flashing. Ink kid decides to ignore this for now, examining their umbrella.  
  
“Hmmm… This umbrella’s fine, I suppose… But it could be a lot more. I should tinker with this, see if I could make it into a true Brella weapon!” Ink Kid thinks to themselves as they run into the machine room.  
  
After about a night of tinkering with the umbrella, various colors of ink are splattered on the walls. In the machine room, Ink Kid fires off one last shot of purple ink at the wall before closing off the source: the umbrella. They look over at the untouched telescope in the room.  
  
“I’ll get to you tomorrow, but for now, I gotta get some shuteye!” Ink Kid states, yawning before walking to the bedroom.

* * *

_ Ink Kid Diary - Entry No. 2 _ _   
_ _ Barrel Mayhem _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “So, when I collect my second Time Piece, I suddenly get sucked into this weird void with this girl named Hat Kid. She mentioned something about being in my situation, though I doubt she was truthful. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ The Mafia decided to take Mu hostage, but I managed to take care of them… Though it did make me think of the effectiveness of my weapon. Thus, I decided to give it some added inky firepower.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ I’ll probably check out the machine room tomorrow, see what’s up with the telescope in there. For now, though, I’m getting some rest.” _ _   
_ _   
_ __ \- Ink Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me, we're just getting started with this one, ladies and gentlebirds!


End file.
